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About the Show

Community Signal is a bi-weekly podcast for community professionals. Social media is set of tools. Community is a strategy you apply to those tools. Marketing brings new customers. Community helps you keep them.

January 22, 2018 update: We’ve decided to extend this into a brief hiatus. We’ll be back next week, with some news about the show! Thank you for your patience.

Hey all,

I’m sorry to have to take another week off so soon, but we’re making some long range plans for the show, and figuring out what the next step looks like. In taking some time to think about that, we just weren’t able to get a show done this week. I’m excited about what is to come, and looking forward to sharing that. I hope to be back next week! Thank you for your patience.

Not every segment we record on Community Signal makes it into the final episode. One of the perks of being a supporter of the show on Patreon is being among the first to hear bonus clips and cut for time extras.

For the 100th episode of Community Signal, we’re talking about the show itself. How it came to be, what drives it and how we make it each week.

My guest is the producer of all 100 episodes, Karn Broad. Karn is my creative partner in the show, but if he does his job well, you never think about it. This episode really gives you a sense of the rapport than Karn and I have, and how we work together every week to produce Community Signal. Plus:

Happy holidays! Community Signal will be taking the week off, but we’ll be back next week for episode #100. Can’t wait.

Thank you to everyone who has made 2017 a great year for the show – our listeners, subscribers, Patreon supporters, sponsors, guests, Karn (my producer), and everyone who has spread the word about our program. See you in 2018!

Sue Ryder, a well-known charity in the UK, provides support for end of life care and bereavement. In 2015, after more than 60 years of operation, they launched an online community.

For a majority of the its members, the community serves as the first touch point between them and the organization. Not only that, but in a survey, more than 90% of members said that the community made them feel less alone and more able to cope with their situation. Community manager Priscilla McClay joins the program. Plus:

Matt Mecham’s code has powered far too many online communities to count. Developing popular online community software since 2001, he worked on YaBB and founded Ikonboard, before co-founding Invision Power Services, the company behind Invision Community.

Given his long view of the industry, Matt sees the timeline of online community as progressing through a few eras: The early years, when he began developing software. The middle years, where platforms became more cognizant of UI considerations and SEO. The recent years, Facebook opening to the public and the resulting impact. And now, which he refers to as the “post-Facebook era.” Where will online communities go in that era? Plus:

The community software business shift from licensing to SaaS (software as a service)

When a member makes a post on your community, there is a status associated with that post. How long they have been a member, how many contributions they have, their reputation, whether or not they are a staff member – all of these things impact their status.

While the content of the post may remain the same, the status of the member changes, as their reputation does or they are removed from staff. Still, when you view their post – old, new, good or poor – only their current status tends to be reflected. That’s one of our topics this week, as we celebrate 2 years of the show with Mark Williams. Plus:

What community platforms can do to encourage co-creation

Why Mark voted to deprioritize community at the company where he works

A lot of value can be found for executives within an online community of their peers. But how can you get them make time to participate, and to let their guard down enough to actually share meaningful things?

That’s the focus of this episode with Adam Zawel, who built and managed executive-to-executive communities for more than a decade. Plus:

Deciding when to allow the fish and the sharks to interact

Why it’s good to be snobbish

Helping community members who aren’t allowed to post due to company policy